Michael Massey

Michael Massey (born March 22, 1998) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Michael Massey
Massey in 2022 with the Omaha Storm Chasers
Kansas City Royals – No. 19
Second baseman
Born: (1998-03-22) March 22, 1998
Palos Park, Illinois, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 15, 2022, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.233
Home runs19
Runs batted in72
Teams

Amateur career

Massey attended Brother Rice High School in Chicago, Illinois, and the University of Illinois, where he played college baseball for the Illinois Fighting Illini.[1] As a freshman with Illinois in 2017, he started 51 games and batted .330 with six home runs and 36 runs batted in (RBIs).[2] That summer, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Kenosha Kingfish of the Northwoods League.[3] He started 53 games as a sophomore, hitting .326 with six home runs and 46 RBIs.[4] He spent the summer of 2018 playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Brewster Whitecaps.[5][6]

As a junior in 2019, Massey dealt with a back injury for part of the season.[7] He still appeared in 55 games in which he hit .317 with five home runs, 28 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases.[8] After the season's end, he was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the fourth round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[9][10]

Professional career
Massey in 2022 with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Massey made his professional debut with the Burlington Royals of the Rookie-level Appalachian League, batting .272 with five home runs and 25 RBIs over 42 games.[11] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12] Massey spent the 2021 season with the Quad Cities River Bandits of the High-A Central with whom he slashed .289/.351/.531 with 21 home runs, 87 RBIs, and 27 doubles over 99 games.[13][14] He also was awarded the Gold Glove at second base.[15] He was assigned to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Double-A Texas League to begin the 2022 season.[16] In mid-June, he was promoted to the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Triple-A International League.[17]

On July 14, 2022, the Royals selected Massey's contract and promoted him to the major leagues.[18] He made his MLB debut the next night as a pinch-hitter versus the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, striking out in his only at-bat.[19] He made his first major league start on July 16 versus the Blue Jays and recorded his first MLB hit, a single off of Max Castillo, in his first at-bat.[20] He was optioned back to the minors on July 18, and called up to the major leagues once again on August 3 following the trade of starting second baseman Whit Merrifield.[21] On August 18, Massey hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of Shawn Armstrong of the Tampa Bay Rays.[22]

Personal life

Massey's father, Keith, played college baseball at Illinois in the 1980s.[23] Massey grew up a fan of the Chicago White Sox.[24]

References
  1. "Illinois recruit Mike Massey sparks red-hot Brother Rice past Mount Carmel - Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune.
  2. "Collegiate Baseball Freshmen AA Team - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper".
  3. "Kingfish Sign Trio From Illinois". Northwoods League. March 16, 2017.
  4. "OrangeandBlueNews - Q&A: Illini second baseman Michael Massey". illinois.rivals.com.
  5. "Michael Massey". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2021-10-19. Retrieved 2022-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Richey, Scott. "Massey playing a waiting game with Illinois baseball". The News-Gazette.
  8. "Big league call 'pretty surreal' for Illini 2B Michael Massey". Illiniinquirer.com.
  9. "Royals draft Massey in fourth round".
  10. "Massey finds niche with Illini, drafted by KC".
  11. "Massey sees a lot of changes coming when baseball returns". April 12, 2020.
  12. West, Jenna. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Canceled". Sports Illustrated.
  13. "For Bandits' Massey, good glovin' is routine | Midwest League Baseball | qctimes.com".
  14. "In title chase, Bandits plan to stay the course | Midwest League Baseball | qctimes.com".
  15. "KC prospect Michael Massey latest to reinvent himself". MLB.com.
  16. "First Round Pick Asa Lacy Headlines the Naturals 2022 Roster".
  17. "Royals' Michael Massey: Earns call to Triple-A".
  18. "Royals' Michael Massey: Receives first big-league call-up".
  19. Chuck Samples. "Royals fall 8-1 in Toronto". KVOE. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
  20. "Former Illini Michael Massey gets first MLB start and hit". 16 July 2022.
  21. "Royals Select Michael Massey".
  22. "Michael Massey hits first career home run in loss Thursday". fantasypros.com. Retrieved 2023-06-03.
  23. "Baseball more than a game for Massey family". February 14, 2019.
  24. "Illinois infielder Michael Massey selected in the 4th round by Kansas City Royals | WICS". June 4, 2019.
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